“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction.
- KJV And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
- BSB The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.
- NKJV The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
- NASB The beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The beast is an eighth king yet belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. Evil recycles itself but cannot escape judgment.
Overview
The beast embodies and intensifies the whole line of God-opposing rulers, presenting itself as something new while being more of the same. Its self-exaltation only hastens its appointed ruin. This assures believers that no matter how many times tyranny reappears in history, its end is destruction at the hand of the Lamb.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Rev 17:8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 17:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.